The Stormers have finally confirmed what we have all been fearing since we first saw the tackle on Schalk Burger in round one of the Super Rugby competition, that the potential Springbok captain will only be ready to take the field after the June Internationals break.

SuperXV.com report that all three loose forwards battling with varying knee injuries, Schalk Burger, Duane Vermeulen and Nick Koster, will all only be available following the break in the Super Rugby for the International matches.

This will mean that the likes of Nizaam Carr, Siya Kolisi and Rynardt Elstadt will be getting a lot more game time and will have to step up to fill the boots of more experienced players. Not that these players have disappointed thus far, with the Stormers still only having lost one match, and this after their four match tour of the Antipodes.

Rumours did surface that the Stormers are looking at bringing in back up loose forward cover in the form of Francois Louw, but this seems unlikely as the former Province and Springbok flanker is signed in at Bath for a few years. Whether we will see the likes of Schalk Brits coming in as loose forward cover, we can only wait and see.

In the meantime, we would like to wish all three injured players the best for their recovery, and we want to see them on the park again soon.

6 Comments

I wonder why it was such a big secret. Why not say at the beginning how long he would be out for.

Comment 1, posted at 05.05.12 09:23:39 by lostfish

Big loss but methinks that the loss of Vermeulen will be felt more (by the Stormers)

Comment 2, posted at 05.05.12 09:32:22 by Salmonoid

lostfish
It seems they were not sure how long he would be out for.
The same with Nick Koster’s injury.
In his recent blog he mentioned that his doctor is still not sure how long he would take to recover.

Comment 3, posted at 05.05.12 22:53:07 by wpw

@wpw (Comment 3) : A lot like the Juan Smith case. They said he’ll play in the World Cup but yet he is still out injured.

Comment 4, posted at 05.05.12 23:10:24 by Ben

And the Stormers’ worst fear must be that the lack of a single BP try so far this season could cost them top spot on the log.